Russian Winter
by minidaydreamer
Summary: A glitch in the TARDIS lands the Doctor in a place he would have never taken Rose, and the situation goes from bad to worse... This is my first fic so I hope it's okay. There's a sequel now, if you're interested
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hii! This is my very first fanfiction, so hopefully its alright and you enjoy it. I know the first chapter's a bit slow but it was a bit necessary so that Rose could go somewhere the Doctor would never usually take her. I hope I got the characters right, and that it seems like it could be good. Please give me any feedback you possibly can, even if it's about spelling and grammar and stuff :). Thanks so much for reading!

Rose awoke to the acrid smell of smoke, and the familiar cries of 'No, no, no, no, no!' coming from the console room. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that she had only been sleeping for three hours. Rose rolled her eyes. For all his travelling with humans (and whatever else he had had on this ship), the Doctor still seemed not to have grasped their simple need for sleep. A sudden lurch sent Rose tumbling out of bed. She grimaced. 900 years of time and space, and he hadn't found a way to make the floors warm in the morning. Or the night. Or whenever it was. Time was a relative thing on the TARDIS. Her thoughts were disrupted by a loud bang and an angry yelp. Grumbling to herself, Rose wrapped her comforter around her shoulders and padded towards the console room.

When she opened the door, Rose was hit by a cloud of green steam. She could just make out the Doctor, who was hopping madly around the console, yanking levers and twisting dials. His glasses sat crookedly on his nose and his hair protruded in a dozen directions, looking for all the world like some sort of mad professor whose experiment had gone terribly, horribly wrong. The TARDIS gave another violet jolt and Rose was thrown against the wall, hanging desperately onto the coral struts in an attempt to stay upright.

"Doctor!" she called. He didn't answer. "Doctor!"

"Oh, morning Rose! Well, I suppose it isn't really morning, not where you come from at least. Mind you, it is morning on approximately 6,874 planets at this exact moment, so I suppose…" He was interrupted mid babble by a violent crack, as fresh column of smoke shot into the air.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Rose. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"It's not my fault! The dimensional stabilisers have suddenly, mysteriously gone out of whack, and the whole system's going haywire."  
>"Right. Suddenly, mysteriously. Wouldn't have anything to do with you trying to fix them, then?" Rose watched in amusement as the Doctor turned a dark shade of pink.<p>

"It was just a bit of maintenance; well, a bit more than a bit, well, a whole lot, but… but the TARDIS needed it! Old girl was due a bit of housekeeping, getting a bit rusty under the -Ow!" Rose giggled as the Doctor sucked his burnt fingers, glaring at the TARDIS. She opened her mouth to comment, but another, more powerful jolt pitched them both onto the ground.

"Can you fix it?" asked Rose, pushing herself unsteadily to her feet. By now she had started to feel more than a little ill. The Doctor gave her an affronted look.  
>"Of course I can. What do you take me for, human? But it'll take a while, so we'll need to land. Unless you fancy getting tossed about like this for the next few hours. And you're looking a bit queasy at the moment. You've gone all green." Rose had indeed gone a very sickly shade of green, and nodded her assent.<p>

"Where shall we land then? Any preferences?" She shook her head.

"Anywhere. **Now.**"

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on. Anywhere, here we come!" The Doctor gave a dramatic twist of the dial, and with the depression of buttons and vigorous pulling of various levers, the TARDIS came to a juddering halt. Rose exhaled loudly, rubbing her unhappy stomach. The Doctor glanced at her, his madcap grin fading to a concerned frown.

"You alright?"

"Will be in a minute." He crossed the console quickly, coming to kneel by Rose's side. Gently, he rubbed her stomach in little circular motions, relieving the tense muscles until Rose's face relaxed and she smiled up at him.

"Thanks." He beamed back.

"Any time. You and your digestive systems, can't keep a burger down to save your lives. Now, I've got circuiting to fix so why don't you hobble on down to bed, hmm?" Rose shook her head.

"''M not tired anymore. Wouldn't mind some fresh air though; think I'll take a walk." The words were barely out of her mouth.

"Oh no. No way. For starters, you don't even know if there is air out there. And secondly, you, Rose Tyler, could find trouble if it had crawled into the smallest hole on the planet and covered itself with a rock. There is no way you're going out there on your own." Rose jumped up and walked over to the monitor.  
>"There. Earth, Russia. Perfectly safe."<br>"For me, for Harriet Jones, for the Mox of Balhoon maybe. But not for you!" Rose glared at him, in true Tyler form.  
>"I am <em>not<em> a child, and if I want to go for a walk in Russia, I will bloody well go for a walk." She strode purposefully past him, to return sometime later with layers of warm clothes, snow boots, and a glint in her eyes that clearly said she was not to be stopped. The Doctor sighed.

"Fine. Have it your way. But the slightest inkling, the itsiest-bitsiest sign of trouble and you come right back, you understand?" Rose nodded. "And keep your phone on you." Rose grinned, her tongue poking out from between her teeth.

"Yes, mother." The effect was immediate. The Doctor went very pale, and then ducked quickly behind the console. He hated to be compared to any domestic she-ape, let alone Jackie Tyler.  
>"Bye then." Rose said. "See you in a bit." A muffled affirmation came in reply. Rose smiled again, then slipped out of the TARDIS, her breath immediately clouding in the frigid morning air.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hihi! If you're here it probably means you read the first part, so thank you soo much for taking the time to read my story, I really hope you're enjoying it. I've written the second chapter hope you like it and that Chapter 1 wasn't too cheesy –I was rereading it and wincing at parts. I shall try and reduce the cheese. Cheese is bad. Inane babbling aside, I've put the rating up a bit cause this chapter has some violence and I'm not sure how it works so I don't want to get in trouble. If you have the time to review after reading, please do! I love feedback! But back to the point, here's the next bit.

Also, Dreamcatcher49, thanks soo much. I was almost too scared to read it cause it was the first review, and then was so happy!

They had landed on the outskirts of a forest, overlooking a small, sleepy town. It was bitter cold, and snow had settled on the wooden huts. The village was surrounded by great sprawling fields which Rose imagined were farms in the spring, but were now to frozen to do anything but walk on. In the distance she could see an icy lake, like a frozen mirror in the landscape. As she walked towards the town Rose felt an overwhelming sense of calm. She had been right, there was no danger here. As if on cue, the silence was broken by angry shouts and the roar of trucks. Rose grinned and quickened her pace. She liked it better this way anyway.

On the other side of the village was a large crowd of people. They were shouting and waving rakes in the air, their faces contorted with anger. In the distance Rose could hear a low rumble. She weaved her way through the crowd, trying to get a better look. Over the horizon, blurrily at first, she could see an approaching convoy. The crowd must have seen it too, because their shouting grew into a great roar of rage. They screamed and cursed the approaching men, shaking their rakes so hard Rose thought they might snap clean in two. She turned to the woman next to her, her face partially obscured by a headscarf.

"What's going on? Who are them men?" The woman turned to her, and to her shock Rose realised that it was not a woman, but a girl, no more than 17. In a different lifetime she must have been pretty, but she was painfully thin. The skin on her face seemed to be plastered to her bones, and her sunken eyes were wide and grey, mirroring the empty sky. A strand of light blond hair slipped out from under her scarf, only to be hastily tucked away. Her face was twisted in fury and when she spoke Rose almost winced at the venom in her voice.

"It's the soldiers. They've come for our land. Dirty thieves, ugly fools. Damned if they think we're going to give it to them." She narrowed her eyes. "How can you be ignorant of this? Are you a spy?"

"No, no nothing like that!" Rose said hurriedly. "I'm, well, a ..a traveller. I'm a long way from home." The girl regarded her coldly.

"You're unlucky too. I'm Alyona."  
>"Rose. Nice ta meet ya."<p>

"I cannot say the same." With that, she turned away, back to the approaching men. The trucks had stopped meters away from the parameter of the village. A short man in green coats and insignia and clutching a sheet of paper strode officiously towards the crowd.

"Comrades," he said in a superior voice. "Rejoice! Your farms are to be collectivised as part of Stalin's grand plans to turn our nation into a great power." He waved the paper. "I hold in my hand a register, one that demands you are collectivised. On signing it, you will show your support not only for the future of agriculture and this great country, but you will also forward your own well-being."

"To hell with your register!" yelled Alyona. The crowd roared in agreement. The man's face twisted into an ugly sneer.  
>"Which filthy, rotten, kulak is spouting such anti-revolutionist trash? Bring her forward!" The crowd didn't move. "Now!" The man's voice dropped to a low, deceptively calm tone. "I am going to ask once, just once more. Bring the traitor forward, and maybe, just maybe, you'll all go back to your homes tonight." Alyona blanched, and made to step forward, but Rose grabbed her arm.<p>

"What're you doing? You'll get yourself killed!" Alyona growled and yanked her arm away.

"Better me than the village. Stop interfering! You'll get us all hurt."

"But.. you only said what they all were thinking! It's not fair!"

"Naïve little girl," Alyona snorted. "Where do you come from? Fairy land?" She made to move forward again, but was stopped by the man's sudden shout.

"I see. You are defending the kulak, so you are no better than the kulaks. I will not stand for it, _we _ will not stand for it! Do you think you are irreplaceable? That there are not thousands like you wandering the land without jobs who would beg to work on our farms? Well then." His voice went quiet again, assuming an almost business-like tone. "You can work elsewhere. All of you." He nodded to the soldiers behind him. "Get them in the trucks."  
>"No!" yelled Alyona. "No, please! It was me! I'm the kulak. Let them be." She pushed her way forward, until she was standing face to face with the officer. "Please," she breathed. The officer's eyes narrowed. He drew his rifle.<p>

CRACK!

Alyona collapsed to the floor, clutching her broken nose. The officer squatted down next to her.

"Too late dear," he cooed, running a gloved hand gently down her cheek. "We need to make examples. To show people what will happen if they try to resist the revolution. Besides," his voice dropped to a whisper, "there are far worse things than death." He kicked her violently, then shouted to his men.  
>"Trucks. Now." The soldiers jumped to obey, surrounding the crowd and prodding them with their guns, forcing them forwards. When the crowds hesitated, one soldier lifted his rifle into the air and started to shoot. There were terrified screams, and all at once the crowd surged forwards. Mothers bent over their children or swept them into their arms, keeping their eyes down as they were herded away. Rose found herself swept forward, caught up in the mass movement. Although, she thought glumly, even if she could move, the soldiers would see. She shuddered and looked desperately towards the wood, where the outline of the TARDIS could just be seen by the trees. Then rough hands grabbed her by the collar, and threw her into a van.<p>

**A/N: **Oh, that got pretty dark. Sorry! Although I suppose it wasn't really a cheerful subject matter. In case you weren't sure, a kulak is this rich peasant that Stalin decided to blame all his problems on, and so he tried to kill them all, as well as using the term as an excuse to remove any possible dissenters.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hi, sorry this is a bit late (at least I think it's late, I'm not quite sure how regularly you're meant to update.) I hope you've been enjoying it so far, or that at the very least it makes literate sense. Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot for you to spend your time reading it. Imitierte Identitat and Dreamcatcher49 (twice! You're so nice!) for reviewing. So hope you like it and feedback's welcome!

As more and more people were forced into the truck, Rose found herself pressed up against the cold metal walls, stuck between two burly men. By the time Alyona had been thrown in, and the doors sealed, it was so full that Rose felt as though even the air had been squeezed out, leaving only shivering silence and choked sobs, and fear so thick it made the space all the more suffocating. As the truck lurched into life, Rose nervously fingered the TARDIS key around her neck. The Doctor'll find me, she thought with a grim smile. That is, if he ever gets that stupid alien head of his out from under the console.

The stupid alien head in question was rather sore from a nasty bang, where he had hit it in a moment of excited genius, conveniently forgetting the solid metal panels above him. As he rubbed the sore spot gingerly, he noted gratefully that Rose had not been there to see it. Rose. The Doctor frowned. His body clock told him that it had been exactly two hours, forty eight minutes, and twenty seconds since she had gone out for her walk. Surely there was not much to see in Russia, unless one was particularly interested in snow and sheep which, unless he was very much mistaken, Rose was not. Then again, Russia could be exciting at times. The 3128 Anti-Gravity Olympics sprung immediately to mind. The Doctor furrowed his brow, trying to remember exactly when Rose said they had landed. Come to think of it, she hadn't said at all. Springing up (taking care to avoid the top of the console,) he swung round to the view screen. And froze.

"No," he breathed. "Oh no, no, no." He grabbed his coat from the jump-seat and raced outside. "Rose," he called desperately. "Rose!" Glancing around, he set off at a run for the village at the bottom of the hill.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief as the truck finally screeched to a halt. The lack of air and the overpowering smells of sweat and fear had left her feeling more than a little sick, and the last thing she wanted to do was succumb to her nausea in the tiny space of the van. She stumbled out into the snow, wincing at the bright light. Along with the other villagers, she was shepherded towards a low building. The soldiers surrounded them, prodding slow movers hard with the butts of their rifles. The wind was biting cold, and Rose wished that she had brought more than just her jacket and thin gloves. As they came closer to the building, She wrapped her hands round the TARDIS key, enjoying the warm pulse below her fingers. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"Give that to me," a voice ordered. Rose turned and found herself staring into the cold blue eyes of a soldier. She clutched the key tightly to her chest.

"I said give it to me!" the guard screamed. He backhanded her across the face, then grabbed hold of the key, dragging it cruelly through Rose's fist. She cried out as the teeth bit through the glove and ripped her skin. The guard dangled the key from his fingers and surveyed it disdainfully.

"A key to your home?" he asked mockingly. "Don't worry, little girl. You won't need it anymore."

"Give it back!" Rose screamed. "It belongs to me!" The guard smiled nastily.

"And you belong to us." Then he hurled the key away with all his might.

"No," yelled Rose, trying to run after it. The guard ignored her. He grabbed her roughly by the arms and dragged her, still struggling and screaming, towards the building in the distance.

The first thing that struck the Doctor as he walked through the little town was the quiet that seemed to linger in the doorways and fill the spaces where life should have been. Footprints still ghosted across the snowy ground, and farming tools lay abandoned, propped up against the old wooden houses. He could see a child's glove, half buried in the snow. Peering through a window, the Doctor noticed pot of food on the table, long gone cold. People had been here not long ago, but they were gone now, disappeared without a sound. Well, the Doctor thought as he reached the edge of the village, almost without a sound. The snow in front of him had been trampled flat, and banners and rakes lay abandoned across it. He walked carefully through the debris, flinching slightly as he saw bright red blood against the snow. Suddenly, the footsteps and flat snow stopped, replaced by tire tracks which ran away from the village and vanished off into the horizon. Maybe Rose wasn't there, the Doctor thought hopefully. Maybe she wandered off through the woods. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it wasn't true. Rose Tyler, jeopardy-friendly, careless, wonderful Rose Tyler, was in danger again. Because of him. The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and skulked back to the TARDIS, shoving his hands in his pockets. He felt his fingertips brush against something metal. The TARDIS key. The Doctor's grim features broke out into a manic grin. He could track her key! Praying that she could stay out of trouble until then, the Doctor broke out into a run, heading straight for the TARDIS.

**A/N: **Sorry, I'm not particularly pleased with this but I couldn't think of a way to make it better and it was kind of important to the plot. I hope it hasn't put you off and that you're still enjoying the story. If you had the time, I would love some reviews?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hihi! Thanks so much for sticking with this fic, and double thanks to Dreamcatcher49, Imitierte Identitat and ffreviewer for taking the time to write such nice things, and more than once too! It's so encouraging and so kind of you! Here's Chapter 4, I hope it's okay and that you enjoy it! Sorry about the overuse of exclamation marks but I just finished my exams and am in a supergood mood. Before I forget, there's one kinda bad word –it's not one of the bad four letter ones, but it's not very nice either, so if it offends you, sorry! Oh, and before I forget again, I don't own Doctor Who so please don't sue me. Finally (I'm honestly stopping now) if the rating needs to go up tell me, cause it's pretty dark, but no one is sleeping together or getting graphically tortured, so…

The low building, Rose quickly discovered, was a train station. As they waited for it to arrive, the villagers were packed into a tiny cell overlooking the railroad tracks. Really, Rose mused, this was getting ridiculous. With all this open land you would think they could make these cells a bit roomier. And the smell! It was enough to make her gag. Mind you, at least it was dry, and relatively free of infestation. In the Rose Tyler Book of Prisons, it got a four. Maybe a five. Her thoughts were cut short by the clacking of boots against concrete, which heralded the return of the officer and his men.

"By order of great Comrade Stalin," he said in a bored tone. "You are all to be deported to Siberia, where you will work without trial until we believe that your Trotskyist tendencies have been dissolved and you once again fully support the great Communist Revolution. A train will come shortly to collect you and transport you to the labour camp. That is all." Rose stared at him in disbelief. As he turned to walk away, a young woman pressed up against the bars reached out and desperately grabbed his ankle. Her blond hair stuck wildly about her face, and her brown eyes were wide and terrified.

"No! Please!" she begged. "I'm not a Trotskyist, never was, I swear it. I just want to go home. I have three children." She gestured desperately behind her. "Please!" The man regarded her coolly, then shook her off his ankle and began to stroll away. "No! No, please!" the woman shrieked, her voice rising to hysteria. Get back here! You bastard!" The officer stopped. He slowly turned around, and crouched down in front of the bars, grasping the woman's chin and looking her straight in the eyes.  
>"And you," he said too calmly. "Are a liar. You are a Trotskyist scum and a liar. And you know what we do with liars." Very deliberately, he reached his hands into his belt and withdrew a pistol. The woman's eyes widened.<p>

"No," she whimpered. "God, don't. Please." The man's lips curled as he rested the gun to her head. Rose squeezed her eyes shut. There was a bang, and a wrenching scream. Then silence. The guard stood up, swinging the pistol around his finger.

"Anyone else innocent?" he asked.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor swung round the control panel, manically flipping levers and depressing buttons.

"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath. A bell and a flashing light confirmed that the TARDIS had locked on the Rose's key. "Yes!" he shouted, grabbing onto one of the coral struts as the TARDIS began to dematerialise. Hold on Rose, he thought. Just one minute more.

Rose started as the train pulled into the station. When the cell door slid open and the villagers began to walk out, she began to panic. The station was not far from the key, but if she got on the train, she would vanish into the Russian wilderness. The Doctor would not know where she had gone. He might never find her. Rose tried to fight against the crowd, but a guard saw her and levelled his rifle at her. She had no choice but to shuffle along, following the other women to the front of the train. The men were led towards the back. She filed into the wooden carriage, tucking herself into a corner and sliding down against the wall. She was dimly aware of the sound of hammering, as the door to the compartment was sealed. Rose let out a dry sob. Suddenly, hands grabbed her jacket and pulled her to her feet, shoving her hard against the wall. Rose found herself staring into the furious eyes of Alyona.

"What the hell are you crying about?" she hissed. "It's your fault we're here. If you had kept your ugly hands to yourself, I'd be dead and they'd be safe." Despite herself, Rose felt anger bubble up in the pit of her stomach.

"I wasn't the one making stupid comments." Alyona's eyes narrowed. Drawing her hand back, she slapped Rose hard against the cheek. She tightened her grip on the jacket.

"I have fought every day to feed my family. I have dug in the snow for hours to find enough food to pay for our house. And you! You just waltz in here with your fancy shoes and thick head, and expect us to follow your childish rules! You _dare_ blame me for this." She drew her hand back again.

"That's enough Alyona," a firm voice said. An old woman stepped forward, pulling the two apart. "They would have taken us anyway. These men need no excuse." She turned to Rose with a small smile.

"I apologize, stranger. We know you meant new harm." Rose gave her a shaky smile.

"'S okay. I have this, this friend yeah? When my Mum met him she gave him a mean slap, but they're mates now." She knew that this was something of an exaggeration, but the way Alyona was looking at her made her want to be as friendly as possible.

"Where do you come from?" the woman asked. "It must be far, as you are clearly ignorant of the way Stalin's men work." Rose nodded.

"Where I'm from –London, that is, there ain't people like this. We moan about the government the whole time." The villagers stared at her.

"Tell us more," the woman said. Rose smiled.  
>"Don't want to bore ya."<p>

"Do you see much else to do?" Rose looked around and made an 'o' shape with her mouth.

"Well, London's a big place. It-" Soon she was immersed in her storytelling, lost in a world she might never see again. So when she heard familiar grinding sounds, she put it down to the wind howling against the train. And so much so that she didn't notice the poisonous glances Alyona shot at her as the train lurched into life.

The Doctor stood alone in the snow. The icy wind whipped past his cheeks, stinging him with ice, but he did not notice. He stared at the key in his hand, tracing the frozen blood with his fingertips. Tiny strands of purple fabric stuck to the metal, the remnant of Rose's glove still attached to her key. She was gone. His Rose. No. He curled his fingers around the key, letting the teeth dig into her skin. They had taken her key and she had put up a fight. Nothing more. He would not give up on her, not now, not after all they'd been through. In the distance he could make out a low building. The Doctor started to head towards it, when he heard a rumbling sound and saw a truck emerge from the gloom. Slipping behind a snow-drift, he closed his eyes, focusing his Time Lord hearing on the conversation that they were having.

"It's a shame," one man said. "She was a pretty thing. Young too. We could have made use of her." The Doctor's hearts skipped a beat. He edged closer to the approaching truck, straining his ears.  
>"Her own fault," said an older, gruffer voice. "She tried to resist. The captain doesn't put up with that nonsense. He doesn't like spirit." No, the Doctor thought. Rassilon, no. He heard the truck roll past, and unable to stop himself, he stumbled out into the open, staring at the retreating truck. The back was roofless. A prone figure lay on the floor, almost completely covered. Just her blond hair fluttered out behind her, caught in the frigid wind. The Doctor felt a tear freeze on his cheek. Oh Rose, he thought. Oh Rose.<p>

**A/N:** I know that was a boring chapter and I'm really sorry, but I wanted to establish a few things like where they were going, what they were doing, and more about Alyona and Rose. I SWEAR this will be the last chapter like it though. Please stick with it! I promise it will get better! And for those who maybe weren't sure, a Trotskyist was someone loyal to Stalin's enemy Trotsky, and apparently was therefore evil and deserved to die (_not _my opinion, Stalin's.) Please review and tell me what you think! Also, I realised I used no, yes and please quite a bit. They're irritating cause they don't have synonyms.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Hii! Sorry this took so long, but I've been kinda sick and so not writing anything coherent, so I tried to make this update longer. I hope you still read it and like it. Thank you sosososo much to Dreamcatcher49, Imitierte Identitat, ValaEnVash, and Dengirl for reviewing, it means a lot and is really encouraging. Thanks for pointing out the spelling stuff, I'm really useless at noticing it but I think I got them all. Um warnings, warnings… I don't think there's much, but I suppose there's smoking (I don't think that counts?) and very minimal violence. Anyway, I won't ramble on, so I really hope you like Chapter 5!

As the train finally lurched to a halt, Rose steadied herself against the wall and blinked her eyes blearily. It had been a long journey, and she was very tired, but there was barely room to sit down in the tiny carriage, and any extra space was delegated to those who could no longer stand. A blast of icy wind startled her into wakefulness, and she realised the door was open, and that they were expected to exit the train. Sighing, she joined in with the mass of shuffling people, shivering through the coat which afforded her no protection against the icy elements. The light reflected from the snow was painfully bright, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust after hours in the gloom. They were in a camp, full of crumbling barracks which looked as though the slightest wind would sweep them off their foundations. The buildings stood in the shadow of a large forest, and Rose could see that the front line of trees had been cut down. As she watched, another tree toppled to the ground as tiny people scuttled around its base, ferrying timber onto large carts then hurrying back to the tree. The villagers were led towards the camp. They drew to a halt in front of the cabins.

"Line up," a familiar voice barked. Rose suppressed an angry shudder. It seemed that the officer from the train station had come with them to the camp. Remembering his brutal treatment of the young woman at the camp, she fell in line between Alyona (who even now took the time to glare at her) and the old woman who had talked to her on the train. The man walked up and down the line with a smirk on his face, stroking a thick baton and hitting it rhythmically against his palm. "While you are here," he sneered, "you will be expected to work for the revolution and play your part in Stalin's Five Year Plan. Good work will be rewarded. Laziness and unproductivity will be punished." He paused in front of the old woman, looking her up and down with a curl to his lip. "Work starts immediately. Report to the tool shed for registering and assignment." The villagers hesitated. The guard cracked his baton against his palm. "NOW!"

The Oncoming Storm walked towards the low building. He took no notice of the biting wind or the deep snow below his boots. Even the harsh weather seemed to bend around him, a whisper in the face of his rage and despair. His tear-frozen face stared blankly ahead of him, as the same thought played through his mind again and again. He would find the people who killed Rose and he would make them pay. The Oncoming Storm walked towards the building, and God help anyone who stood in his way.

_Thunk! _The axe bit into the wood. Rose grunted as she lifted it again and struck down hard. Her hands were numb from the cold, but she could still feel blisters forming along her palms. As another tree fell to the ground with a crack, Rose overbalanced, landing hard on the log she had just cut down. The sky had grown dark hours ago, and with it the temperature had plummeted. The cold combined with sheer exhaustion meant that she was struggling to stay on her feet. Stumbling up, Rose gathered her latest load of timber and carried it over to the cart. A claxon sounded and she breathed a sigh of relief. She followed the other labourers in to the food hall. Another officer stood at the front doling out rations. He glanced up at her.

"Name?"  
>"Rose Tyler." The man consulted his clipboard.<p>

"Full rations." He handed her a small bowl full of soup so thin it might have been water, and a hunk of stale bread. Rose stared at the food in her hands. She opened her mouth to complain, but a cruel glint in the eyes of the officer caused her to shut her mouth and turn away. She could hear the officer behind her, talking.

"Name?"  
>"Darya Ivanova."<p>

"Half rations." Rose's mouth fell open and she swung round. The guard was handing a half-full bowl to a scrawny woman she hadn't seen before. The bones protruded from her skin in her arms and legs, but her swollen belly told Rose that she was fighting to support another life.

"'Cuse me?" Rose said, trying to keep her tone level. "Why aren't you givin' her more food?" The officer stared at her coolly.  
>"She didn't meet production targets." Rose looked at him in disbelief.<p>

"But… she's pregnant." The officer laughed and turned to the soldiers who were stationed at the door.

"She's bright, this one. We should send word to the research commission. I'm sure they could use another pair of hands." Rose glared at him.

"She won't work any faster if you starve her, you know." The man narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me how to run my operation. If she wasn't so lazy, she would have enough to eat. Now sit down." Rose turned in frustration. She started to walk towards the table, but something caught her leg and she fell forward, splashing the soup onto her face and along the floor. Mocking laughter filled her ears as she wiped the broth from her eyes. Cheeks burning red, Rose picked up her empty bowl and lifted her chin in the air, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Ivan sat at the station, taking a deep draft of his cigarette. The orange glow lit up the empty landscape, and he shivered despite himself. He hoped the train returned soon; he didn't like being alone at nightime, when the only light came from the flickering lamp. A shadow fell across Ivan, and he glanced up. A man in a long brown coat loomed over him. His hair was covered in snow and his fingers blue from the cold, but he didn't seem to know, or else didn't care. His eyes were black with fury. In one swift movement he lifted Ivan by the collar and pinned him to the wall, his forearm pressing painfully on Ivan's neck. When he spoke it was barely a hiss, but it was enough to send chills down Ivan's spine.

"I'm going to say this once," the man said. "Just once, and I want an answer." He pressed down harder and Ivan winced as the air was forced out of his lungs.

"Who killed Rose Tyler?"

Rose curled up on the wooden planks, tucking her frozen fingers between her thighs in a vain attempt to warm them up. She was exhausted, but the cold and the insistent pang of her stomach chased sleep away whenever her eyelids drooped. So instead she dozed, playing happy memories in her mind's eye of her and the Doctor on the beach at San Kloon, or riding the cloudships over Martiger Five. Her dreams were interrupted by as something brushed by her face. Rose blinked and looked around, but whatever, or whoever it was, was gone. Rose sighed and slipped back into her dreamworld, chuckling at the expression on Adam's face as he gazed over the fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. She felt a fuzzy warmth surround her, and closed her eyes blissfully, basking in the heat. She was dimly aware of screams, and shaking her head, she pulled herself into a sitting position. The heat was intense now, and sweat dripped down her face. She looked out the narrow window, only to be met by a great blaze of orange light. Glancing around the dozing barracks, Rose suddenly realised what was going on.

"Fire! Fire, everybody out!"

**A/N: **So there you go, I hope it was alright. I know some of it seems like waffle, but its important, I SWEAR! Please review, I really like feedback, and thanks again to everyone who has done so so far.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hihi! Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed my story, in particular Dengirl, Imitierte Identitat and Dreamcatcher49, who is so lovely and has reviewed every single chapter. Thank you for sticking with my fic, so I really hope you enjoy this next instalment. It gets pretty dark, I didn't mean it to, but it was. So if you're uncomfortable with violence or at the beginning a fairly dark Doctor, please be warned. Doctor Who's still not mine. Rats.

The Oncoming Storm stared contemptuously at the quivering man before him. How dare he be scared, when he had send hundreds, no, thousands, to far more terrifying fates? He curled his hands into a fist. The man against the wall wheezed, struggling weakly against his iron grip. Without warning the Doctor drew back his hand and punched the man hard, in the face. He felt nothing but a cold satisfaction as the man cried out, blood dripping slowly down his face.

"Please," the guarded whimpered.

The Oncoming Storm suddenly grabbed the man's arm, forcing him down on his knees. He slowly began to twist, a grim satisfaction building in his gut. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"She was nineteen years old. She had seen things you could never dream of. She was a wanderer, an adventurer, just passing through. The whole of the universe, and your petty (twist), cruel (twist) society decided it would be fun to play games with her. Trust me," he smirked. "It's the last mistake you'll ever make." He pushed down hard and the man's arm splintered, causing him to shriek with pain. When he turned to face the Oncoming Storm though, his agony was mixed with confusion.  
>"I don't understand. Zhenya lived in the village her whole life." With a roar, the Oncoming Storm grabbed the man by his lapels and shoved him hard against the concrete wall.<br>"Her name was Rose!" he shouted. The man shook his head and moaned pitifully.

"No it wasn't. It was Zhenya. We were friends… a long time ago. Before I left to fight in the revolution. I would know her anywhere." The man let out a low cry as he slipped to the floor, falling easily into a sea of darkness. The Doctor stood staring where the man had been, his nerveless hands still extended out in front of him. He watched the red blood that ran slowly through his knuckles, then dropped his gaze to the senseless man on the floor.

"Oh Rassilon," he muttered. "Oh Rassilon, I'm so, so sorry."

Rose and the other prisoners stared in disbelief at the scene in front of them. The timber, which they had cut the previous day, was gone, along with several wooden buildings, the ash dissipating quickly in the stiff wind. The villagers were looking around in wonder, many of them shivering. The fire had been extinguished some time ago, but the officers were searching the barracks, looking for the culprits, and they were all forced to stand outside in the snow. Rose realised that two of those buildings had been sleeping quarters, and wondered desperately for a moment if the inhabitants had made it out alright. Her thoughts were cut off as a rifle butt cracked hard across her cheek, knocking her backwards. She looked up, meeting the black eyes of the officer from the train station.

"You traitor," he snarled.

"What?" Rose gasped. "I didn't do anything. I was asleep!" The man kicked at her.  
>"Liar!" He uncurled his fist. In his hand he held a small box of matches. Bending down until his eyes were inches from her own, he held the box beneath her nose.<p>

"These," he hissed. "Were found in your bed." Rose stared at him slackjawed, glancing between his dark glare and the unfamiliar box in his hand. He grabbed her by the collar and yanked her to her feet, his voice rising to a hysterical shout. "Saboteur! Trotskyite! I should have killed you when I had the chance. No matter." He withdrew his pistol and jerked it towards an empty patch of land, pushing Rose in the same direction. "Better late than never."  
>***<p>

The Doctor walked away from the station. He was shaking slightly, but it had nothing to do with the cold. He had repaired the man's injuries as best he could, but a great fire of guilt still burnt at his chest as he remembered the crack of bone and anguished cries of the naïve little ape who he had hurt without feeling. What sort of hero was he? As another wave of regret reared its head, the Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, and quickened his pace. He would have time for self- recrimination later, and he had doubt that the man would join so many other ghosts that haunted his dreams and waking hours. Right now though, he had a Rose to find.

Rose stood in the snow, a tiny figure in a barren landscape. The cold bit through her thin jacket, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable. The villagers watched her, with expressions ranging from pity to admiration. She wanted to scream at the officer, tell him it hadn't been her, but she knew it was useless. His eyes were too clouded with anger to see reason, and his pistol was already primed. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was going to die, alone and cold without anyone to hold her hand. Rose tried to imagine the Doctor, to make her last thoughts of him so she would not feel so alone. But the fear gnawed through her happy memories, and she was left more miserable and lonely than ever. She opened her eyes again, and looked bravely down the barrel of the gun. The man tightened his fingers.  
>"For Stalin." The villagers' breath caught in their throats, and even the wind seemed to pause, filling the space with a deafening silence.<p>

"Stop." The voice was small, but steady. Rose looked over in shock. Darya stood just behind the officer, arms wrapped around her stomach. "It wasn't her. It was the other blond girl." She lifted a shaking finger and pointed straight at Alyona. The young girl folded her arms.  
>"The matches were found in her bed. You need no more proof than this."<p>

"You put them there." Rose's voice shook, from fear or anger she couldn't quite tell. She stepped forward. "You framed me! You tried to get me killed!" Alyona wavered slightly, then stiffened, tucking her arms more tightly around herself.  
>"Liar."<p>

"I felt it! Something brushed past me, and I thought it was the wind. But it was you, wasn't it? You were putting the matches in my bed." The officer had been watching this exchange with interest. He walked over to Rose, pulling another pistol from his belt.

"You have been wrongly accused," he said with a smile that sent shivers down Rose's spine. "I don't think you would lie, you have already shown remarkable tendencies to support what you believe is _right._" He said the last word in a tone one might use to discuss a particularly nasty bug. "So, I will give you your revenge." He pressed the pistol into her hand. "Shoot her." Rose's eyes widened.

"What?" He shrugged.  
>"You heard me. She would have seen you shot without a second thought. Now do it."<br>"No!"

"Why not?"

"Well, I.. I can't." Rose stammered. "I mean, I won't! I don't care what she did, she doesn't deserve it."  
>"I'm afraid it wasn't a choice." The officer smirked. "You can either execute her, or," he raised his other pistol. "Admit your own guilt, and accept the consequences." He touched the barrel lightly to her head.<p>

"Now my dear, what'll it be?"

**A/N: **I have just realised how many blond girls I have in my story! Sorry about that! I don't have an obsession with them or anything, but I needed a Rose lookalike and Alyona just sort of happened. Also, I'm not hugely pleased with the writing in this chapter, but I wanted to get his bit done with, so tell me what you think? I really really hope you liked it! It would be so lovely if you could review, but thank you just for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hihi! Its so kind of you to have taken the time to read my story up to this point, so thanks so much! Thank you especially to Dreamcatcher49, Dengirl, Angelic Toaster, LVD and Imitierte Identitat for your lovely reviews, it really means a lot and is so encouraging. There is a bit of shooting and blood in this chapter, so if you don't like that kind of stuff, give it a miss. I hope you like this next bit, and as always please tell me what you think! I hope you like this next bit.

Rose drew a deep shuddering breath as she stared at Alyona. The girl lifted her chin and folded her arms. She glared back, her eyes full of pride and anger. But there behind the strong façade Rose could make out the unmistakable flicker of fear. She recognised that look, from the countless of times she had done just that. Stood up straight and proud in the face of an alien threat, and clasped her hands together to mask the shaking that she couldn't control. She looked back at the girl and made her decision.

"It was me," she said, fighting desperately to keep the tremble out of her voice. "I lied. I burnt it all down." She saw Alyona's eyes widen in disbelief, heard the crowd mumble in surprise. She risked a glance at the officer. His mouth hung open in disbelief, and his eyes bulged out from his head. He quickly recovered, smoothing his startled features into his typical sneer. He raised his gun. Rose squeezed her eyes shut, and there was a loud bang, and the distinctive smell of burnt gunpowder. She waited for the pain, but to her surprise she felt nothing but the cold sinking through her skin. Just then Rose heard screams from the crowd. Her eyes shot open. Another woman lay sprawled on the snow, her hand clutched over her ribs. She raised her head, and Rose realised it was Darya. She turned to the officer.

"What the hell was that for?" she screamed. "I burnt it! Me!" The officer smiled sadistically.  
>"She lied," he retorted. "But don't worry. You'll have your turn." He turned suddenly, aiming the pistol her stomach and squeezing the trigger. Rose couldn't repress a scream as fire tore through her belly. She sunk to the snow as the world dissolved in a blur of colours and sounds. She was dimly aware someone barking orders, and hands coming up under her arms, pulling her across the snow. She felt something move next to her ear, then heard a voice from far away. It was Alyona.<br>"Bloody foreigner," she whispered. "Always getting people hurt. You try to protect me, following some childish logic, and it always ends in misery.? Darya was with child, and your _stupid_ morality got them both killed. I hope you're happy now. Why won't you let me die"

"Don't want to," Rose muttered blearily.

"What?"

"Don't want to die. You… scared.. shoot Didn't want it." She felt Alyona pause, then drag her quicker across the icy ground.

"I don't know what you mean."  
>"Me too. Acting strong, being scared," she whispered, a wan smile passing over her face as she remembered the Sycorax's ship. She heard Alyona's breath catch in her throat, and forced her eyes open. Alyona stared down at her, and for a moment, she looked like a little girl, lost and scared. Then her gaze hardened.<p>

"How dare you imply that I'm not strong? Bloody foreigner." She straightened and looked away, and with a small sigh Rose let her eyelids flutter shut, sinking into a warm black sea.

The Doctor burst through the TARDIS doors, his face set in a grim line. He could track Rose from his ship, should have from the start. Stupid, stupid Timelord. All he needed was a sample of her DNA, and the He shoved his fingers through his pockets, desperately searching for something Rose might have touched. His hand closed around an unfamiliar metal object, and he pulled it out. It was her TARDIS key.  
>"Yes!" he whooped. Shoving the key into the receiver, he hopped about impatiently as the lights blinked. Suddenly, they went a bright white and gave a dink, indicating that they had locked onto Rose's location. He gripped the console hard as the TARDIS began to dematerialize. One minute more, Rose, he thought desperately. Just hold on.<p>

Rose woke up with the curious sensation of floating. She tried to sit up, but a burning pain in her chest stopped her. She stared in bemusement at the red blossoms that seemed to grow from a hole in her middle. Hole. Shot. The memories of the past few hours began to assemble in her heads. She had been at the camp. There was a fire. Alyona. Darya. _Darya_. Forcing herself into a sitting position, Rose looked around frantically. They were on a snowy bank deep in the forest. The only light came from the moon, which shone round and white against the sky. She caught sight of the other woman lying face-down in the snow a few meters away. She dragged herself over to her, and shook her gently.

"Darya?" she croaked. "Darya, wake up." She received no answer. She lifted trembling fingers to her neck and almost sobbed when she found a pulse. Shrugging off her jacket, she slipped it around Darya's shoulders, then proceeded to do the same with her gloves. She didn't need them anyway. She felt warm now. Hot, in fact. She pulled off her jumper and tore off the sleeves, wrapping one around her wound and the other around Darya. By the time she had tied the last knot, she felt exhausted. Flopping to the ground, she let her cheek rest against the blissfully cool snow. Belatedly, she remembered that in situations like this, you were meant to stay awake. Although, she reasoned, she would be no use tired. Just a short nap, then she would be back on her feet. Rationalising over, Rose let her eyelids flutter shut. Somewhere in the distance she heard the wind roaring. It sounded familiar, like an echo from another lifetime. She felt warm hands cupping her cheeks, and a gentle voice calling her name. For the first time in days, Rose felt completely safe, and as she slipped into a dreamless sleep she felt her lips tug upward in a smile.

**A/N: **That was super hard to write, cause I've never been shot or gotten hypothermia, so I can only imagine what they feel like. I hope it was alright though, and I would love to hear your feedback!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Hii! Sorry it's been so long since an update but I've had all this stupid coursework to do which has taken up a bit of time. I couldn't bring myself to do anymore, so I decided to write the next chapter instead. Thanks so much to Dreamcatcher49, Angelic Toaster, Dengirl, Maura, Imitierte Identitat and AliaofTwoWorlds for reviewing, it really does mean a lot! This chapter required a lot of Googling on how to treat certain medical conditions, so I hope that bit is alright, but I am still not 100% sure if this is what would actually happen… correct me if I'm wrong and I'll change it! Two kind of bad words but nothing serious. I hope you like the next chapter!

The Doctor stared at the tiny figure sprawled out in the snow, his eyes dropping from her face down to the crimson hole marring her shirt. He stood, frozen in horror, for what seemed like an eternity. Then a tiny groan fluttered out from Rose's lips, and he sprang into action. He gently scooped her into his arms and sprinted back into the TARDIS, carrying her as gently as he could. He burst through the doors and raced to the infirmary, silently thanking the TARDIS for moving it so close to the console room. The Doctor laid his precious burden down on the gurney and with great difficulty tore himself away from Rose. He dashed outside to collect the other woman he had seen fallen in the snow. As he picked her up, he took in her swollen belly and sunken limbs. he was pregnant. Whether that was still the case remained to be seen, he thought, staring with a grimace at the gaping hole in her chest. He placed the woman on a bed next to Rose. With clinical detachment removed their dripping clothes and inserted drips into their arms. His movements were fluid and professional, betrayed only by the shaking in his fingers. He bent over Rose, examining her wound. The cold had actually been beneficial in this situation –it had slowed down blood loss enough to keep her blood levels from reaching dangerous levels. Although, he thought, glancing at her blue fingers, cold is a two way street. He lifted a scanner from a nearby tray and proceeded to run it the length of Rose's body. As he read the results, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The bullet had missed her vital organs, lodging itself near her stomach. A dark fog clouded his vision, as he realised this had been intentional –they hadn't meant for her to die immediately, but to die scared and alone in the dark forest. He squeezed the scanner tightly in his fist, almost snapping it in two. The only thing that kept him in the room were the two women that needed his help. He forced his anger aside, keeping it barely restrained, and applied a temporary bandage to Rose's stomach and wrapped her in blankets, before turning his attention to her friend. With a sinking heart he realised she may not have been so lucky.

The first thing Rose saw when she opened her eyes was white. White like snow. She must be in the snow, in the forest with Darya. _Darya!_ Rolling onto her side and biting back a yelp at the wave of pain , Rose tried to push herself up, but found her arms were stuck by her sides, trapped by the blanket which was wrapped all around her. That was odd. They don't usually have blankets in forests. She tried to manoeuvre herself up again, but a strong pair of hands descended on her shoulders, keeping her firmly in place.

"Don't know where you think you're going, Miss Tyler," said a familiar voice lightly, Rose's eyes widened, as she found herself staring into another pair of brown eyes she thought she would never see again.

"Doctor?" she breathed. His face split in a huge grin.  
>"That's me." He pressed his lips to her forehead and for a moment they just stayed there, their faces illuminated by small smiles. Suddenly, Rose stiffened, and drew away, looking around frantically.<p>

"Darya! I was with this woman, this friend, see, and she was out there too, she was hurt, and…" the Doctor grasped her shoulders gently.

"Rose. Rose! She's fine. She's just over there." Rose followed his finger and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw her friend lying on a nearby bed. She turned back to the Doctor and beamed at him.  
>"Thanks." She thought she saw something flicker behind his eyes, but it instantly disappeared, replaced with a relaxed smile. He pressed her back onto the bed, and his expression hardened.<p>

"You, though, are incredibly lucky to have your fingers, let alone be alive. Don't know what possessed you to wander off like that, or what you did to get yourself shot, but, no, let me finish," he said as Rose opened her mouth to interrupt. "I'm sure you had your reasons, and I'm pretty sure they were the same reasons that led to your friend over there wearing your jacket." His expression softened for an instant. "But you didn't even check the date! One word, four numbers, and this all could have been avoided. But no, instead you wander out on your own and get yourself hauled off to a bloody prison camp! You could have died and it would have been your own damn fault!" Rose simply stared at him, eyes wide. The Doctor felt himself deflate. It hadn't been her fault, really, but he had been so scared and angry, not at her, but at her captors. He hadn't meant to say any of it, hadn't meant to take his anger out on her, but it had just slipped out. "Rose?" he said softly. "Rose, I'm sorry, I.. it was an accident." But Rose kept staring, watching memories play in her minds eye.

"_They're all dead cause of you."  
>"They are dead because of us."<em>

""_It's your fault we're here. If you had kept your ugly hands to yourself, they'd be safe."_

_Her old Doctor, with his battered leather jacket and big ears, burning in a fire she helped to create._

"_You could have died and it would have been your own damn fault."_

Rose bit back a sob. God, what was she? Whatever she touched turned to dust. The village, the old Doctor, hell, even the Daleks. She couldn't even keep herself safe. What good was she to the Doctor?

"Rose? Rose? C'mon say something, please. I didn't mean it, any of it." The Doctor's pleading broke through her reverie. She turned to him abruptly.

"We should take Darya home." The Doctor was taken aback, but Rose talked on, aware she was babbling. "Wouldn't want her waking up in the middle of a time machine. Somewhere safe, though. Somewhere she can bring up her kid in peace. Don't want them getting hurt." The Doctor looked at her for a long moment, his eyes full of pain and regret.

"Rose, I'm so sorry. Darya's fine. But the baby isn't." The colour drained from Rose's face and she looked at him desperately.

"But you're the Doctor. Can't you fix it?" The Doctor watched her sadly.  
>"I'm sorry. I did everything I could. But the damage was irreversible." Rose curled herself into the ball, shivering despite the blankets. She turned away from the Doctor, staring at the opposite wall. Another person dead, all because of her.<p>

**A/N: **That was certainly not what I expected the chapter to turn out like, it just sort of happened. I hope it was alright, I'm not sure about it, but the Doctor can get angry when he's worried, and Rose would have to deal with this at some point anyway. I hope it wasn't too out of character. Please tell me what you think?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Hi! Been a while since an update, sorry about that. I couldn't quite decide where I wanted this to go. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, especially Dengirl and Angelic Toaster for their lovely reviews for my last chapter. I think this will probably be the last chapter! I can't believe I finished it! Yay! *happy dance* So I really hope you like Chapter 9, and as always feedback is welcome.

They dropped Darya off in a small town in the south of Russia, which the Doctor promised remained relatively untouched by the debris of a crumbling country. The villagers were initially reluctant to take her, citing their bare barns and cramped houses, but after Rose emptied the TARDIS pantry into a wheelbarrow and presented it in front of the elders, they agreed to give her a home. Rose noticed several of the villagers admiring Darya appreciatively, and wondered if there was an ulterior motive to their kindness. Despite the Doctor's insistence that she was in safe hands, Rose refused to leave until Darya had woken. She wanted to tell her the news in person. It was time to start taking accountability for her actions. She sat on the floor in the dimly lit hut, watching the other woman sleep, and rehearsing her confession over and over in her mind. How do you tell someone you killed their child? Rose felt the prick of tears at her eyes again, and roughly scrubbed them away with the back of her hand. She was not the one who should be crying. Darya let out a low moan, and Rose stiffened, her eyes trained on her friend's pale face. She scooted closer to narrow bed and knelt beside it, taking one of Darya's thin hands in her own. She watched as Darya's eyelids fluttered, and as green eyes looked languidly around the room before coming to rest on Rose's.

"I'm not dead?" she asked in confusion. Rose attempted a smile and shook her head.

"Nah. We were lucky. I have this friend, called the Doctor, and, well, he found us and patched us up as best he could, and we're free now, your safe." Darya frowned, slowly digesting this information.

"Your friend must be a very good Doctor… he must care about you a lot to look for you all the way out there," she said softly. Rose's throat constricted. Maybe so, but she certainly didn't' deserve it. Her eyes widened as she processed the last part of the sentence, and she struggled up onto her elbows. Rose laid at placating hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, take it easy," she said gently. Darya looked at her in concern.

"As best he could? Are you alright? Are you still hurt?" Rose felt a lump in her throat. She tried to speak, but all she could manner was a strangled whimper. Darya squeezed her hand, and she looked down with tear-filled eyes.

"We're fine," she whispered. "But the baby.. it didn't make it. I'm sorry, I really am, I didn't mean.." she tailed off, watching Darya desperately. Darya looked down, then gave her a smile so sad it all but broke Rose's heart.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. It.. it would have happened anyway." Rose stared at her aghast.

"What? ? But if it wasn't for you stickin' up for me, he wouldn't have hurt you. You got hurt 'cause of me!" Darya shook her head.

"You stopped me getting hurt. You saw how they treated me there; do you really think I would have lasted more than a month? Maybe two?" She spoke matter-of-factly, as if talking about the weather. "Even if I did live long enough, I couldn't have raised my child there. If the cold didn't kill him the soldiers would. Besides, I'm free, thanks to you. I can try again. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's." She stared off into the distance, and her eyes filled with tears.

"I just wanted to be a mommy." Her voice caught in her throat, and she stared at her blanket. "I think I would like to be alone." Rose nodded, tears once again threatening to spill from her eyes.  
>"I think I have to go. My friend… it's not fair to keep him waiting." Darya nodded.<br>"Good Luck, traveller Rose." Rose kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Good Luck, Darya. Be…" she paused. "Amazing." Then she slipped out the door. The last thing she saw before it closed was the slump in Darya's shoulders as she fell onto the mattress and started to sob.

"Alright Rose?" the Doctor asked as Rose stepped slowly into the TARDIS. Her red puffy eyes stood starkly against her white skin, and her eyes had lost their usual sparkle. She looked up at him and attempted a grin.

"Yeah, course." The Doctor pushed himself off the jump the seat and crossed the console room in three long strides. He rested one hand on her arm and brought the other one up to lift her chin until her eyes met his. In them he could see the clear blue guilt of his ninth regeneration, and the guilt and self-recrimination that had left him so broken before he met Rose.

"Oh Rose," he whispered softly. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her against his chest in a silent apology for shouting, for losing her, for the innocence she had lost somewhere in the Russian snow. He could feel her shaking, and her tears seeping into his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he muttered, over and over again. "I'm so sorry."  
>"They're all dead 'cause of me," she sobbed.<br>"Who?" he asked.  
>"All of 'em. The baby, those men in Utah, God, even the Daleks." He pulled away from her slightly, resting his hands on her shoulders.<p>

"It wasn't your fault," he told her firmly, looking into her eyes to make sure she understood. "You did what you needed to do. You're not evil Rose Tyler. I take only the best, and I asked you, what, twice? Best decision I ever made." She gave him a watery smile.  
>"Yeah?" He grinned back at her.<p>

"Yeah." His smile faltered slightly. "So, where to now?" Rose paused.

"Somewhere fantastic." The Doctor beamed.  
>"Brilliant!" He shot off around the console, pulling levers and twisting dials with dramatic flourishes. He didn't notice the smile slowly slip from Rose's face, or the guilt that trickled slowly but steadily into her eyes. Her Doctor, trying to make her happy. But she knew better. Whatever he said, it was still her fault.<p>

He turned to her again suddenly, and she plastered a large smile on her face, remembering at the last moment to poke her tongue between her teeth. She promised him forever. She wouldn't break that. She would pretend to be the naïve little shop girl that he had found one night in a basement in London, instead of a dirty blond assistant. It made him happy, and she owed him at least that much.

**A/N:** Woo! That's it. I apologize deeply for the vats of cheese poured over some aspects of this chapter, but I'm no good at the whole emotional dealy. I know it wasn't a particularly happy ending but given the story and the period and whatnot I didn't think that would be particularly appropriate. I did have a sequel beginning to form in my mind if anyone's interested, though, where Rose's lack of faith in herself effects on of their adventures in a big way, so maybe I'll write that. But as always I would really love to know what you thought of this final chapter, and the story as a whole. If you're reading this, then you finished my story (or just skipped to the end) and I can't thank you enough for giving it your time, and I really hope you enjoyed it. Love minidaydreamer xx


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